IELTS Advice: from 6.5 to 7

One of the most common questions that people ask me is: "How can I improve my score from 6.5 to 7?"

Here's some advice if your current score is 6.5:

• The good news is that you are not doing anything wrong in terms of exam technique. The fact that you are getting 6.5 means that you are doing the exam in the right way.
• You are very close to getting a 7. In the writing and speaking tests, a score of 6.5 means that you are already achieving band 7 in half of the requirements.
• You don't need a special technique or piece of advice. You only need to make small improvements. For example, in the speaking and writing tests, try to express your ideas in a bit more detail, and try to reduce the number of small mistakes that you make.

Comments

[Behrooz]

Hi Simon,

When we are describing something in percentage terms, should we use figure or figures? For instance, " 49% of the British use the internet at home while the figure/figures for the US stands at 37%."

Thanks for your support.

[Rasagna]

Hi Simon

i got my results yesterday,

Listening: 9

Reading: 7

Writing: 6.5

Speaking: 6.5

your site helped me alot, but need to get 7 in each section. I got your e-book yesterday and having exam in 2 weeks time. can you please suggest me how to improve?

[Glendale]

Hi Simon, I was just wondering if it's still possible to get a band 7 in speaking even though I messed up in part two. I mean, I wasn't able to talk straight for 2 minutes and the examiner keeps on ushering me to continue speaking but I have nothing else to say. So, I was wondering if that would greatly affect my speaking test.

[cagla]

Hi Rasagna,

I want to ask you how did you prepare yourself to get such a high score at the listening part of the IELTS exam. I took it recently and listening was the hardest part for me, so I would be glad if you can share your own experience.

I also wish that you will improve your writing score soon. Dont worry, as long as you carefully follow Simon's advice, you will reach your goals.

[Christina]

Hi RASAGNA, you are very close in the writing and speaking parts. You could try finding a good IELTS teacher online to help you point out which areas you need to improve on. Dont just retake the exam without knowing what you did wrong last time. Have a think about what you might've gone wrong in the writing and speaking? Is it your task response, is it your task 1? If you got 6.5 in speaking, maybe you need to work on your fluency? Find an excellent IELTS tutor helps tremendously! My speaking jumped from 7.5 to 8 and always stayed 8 because of invaluable tips given by my tutors! Dont give up! I got 6.5 in academic writing last time as well and I even resit it last Saturday and I hope we both at least get a 7 in writing!

[jenti]

i need 7 each....

which module is easy academic or general

I found to hear that general i s much more easy than acd..?? give me suggestion plz

[james]

hI i AM very sad to get results is that

s=6
l=6.5
w=6.5
and worst is

reading = 4.5

how my reading is so poor

[Henri]

Hi Simon,

This is an interesting website full of advice and it's been useful, so thanks very much for providing it for everyone to see.

On the ILETS website it mentions that the listening and reading are scanned. Does that mean the computer marks the papers? What about if i enter 2 cafes or 2 cafe's are both right?

Thanks.

[Christina]

Hi Henri,
No, the papers are not marked by computers. They are marked by clerical markers.

Have a look at this extract taken from help4ielts website.

http://help4ielts.com/2011/09/07/how-not-to-lose-marks-in-the-listening-and-reading-exams/

"I’m not an IELTS examiner, I’m an IELTS clerical marker. Let me explain the difference. Examiners do the speaking interviews and grade the writing. Clerical markers mark the reading and listening papers. Clerical markers aren’t allowed to be examiners and examiners aren’t allowed to be clerical markers."

[Rasagna]

Hi Cagla

It is actually very easy to get above 7 in listening if you concentrate properly.I just followed Simon's advices which helped me a lot. Just go through all lessons in this site carefully and keep on practicing tests from cambridge ielts books.Be careful with your spellings which plays a crucial role in fetching you a good score.Be confident definitely you will get a good score. All the best.

[Rasagna]

Hi Christina

Thanq so much for your advice.I think i was bit tensed during my speaking session and lost confidence.I hope can improve this next time.All the best for your exam.Hope we both should get 7 in all sections.

[Simon]

Hi Behrooz,

Use 'figure' because 37% is one figure/number.

...

Hi Rasagna,

My advice in the lesson above is perfect for your situation. Also, read Christina's advice (a few comments below yours) - I agree completely with what she says.

PS. Congratulations on getting a 9 in listening!

...

Hi Glendale,

I'm afraid that probably will have a significant effect on your score. If your answers for part 3 were super-brilliant, it might still be possible to get a high score.

...

Thanks again Christina!

...

Hi Jenti,

Yes, the GT test is a bit easier (but only the reading test and writing task 1 are different). If you want to study at university, you will probably need the Academic test.

...

Hi James,

Sorry to hear about your reading score. Maybe you need to take a few lessons with a (private) teacher to find out what's wrong.

...

Hi Henri,

All papers are marked by a person. Maybe they are scanned so that they can be sent electronically. Read Christina's comment below yours for more information.

[Behrooz]

Hi Simon,

One of my friends took the IELTS test two days ago and the essay question was " These days most parents are too busy to spend time with their children. What are some of the reasons for that and what are the effects on children?"

What do you think about this introduction:

Busy as a bee is an applicable expression to most parents these days. Having to provide both financial and parental support for their family, parents need to juggle their jobs with their children's needs. With the escalating cost of living, a vast majority of people have to moonlight to supplement their income and make ends meet. Therefore, they have limited time to spend with their family, which could have far-reaching consequences on their children.

Isn't the expression at the beginning too informal? As always, thank you very much for your help.

[Behrooz]

Could this introduction be a band 9?

[Martin]

Hi Behrooz,

I think the paragraph you wrote is more like a "body paragraph" rather than an introduction.

Introductions only need to be short and concise. Suggested reading: http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/ielts-writing-task-2/

Regards,
Martin

[cagla]

Hi Rasagna,

Thank you so much for your comment! I think concentrating is the the most important part in listening exam. I was mostly trying to improve my writing skills so could be that I made a mistake by not practising listening often enough.

For writing I can add that you should be really careful with your planning part. In addition, you should check your grammatical errors. If you dont have a big problem with grammar, then it is probably either you dont answer the task properly or the vocabulary is an issue.

I hope you will get band 7 for each part next time!

All the best!

[Tortoise]

Hi Simon,

I scored 7 on speaking section and this upsets me because I believe that my skill deserve more than that. Can you please tell me how to improve from 7 to 8 in speaking test? I am sure that my pronunciation and intonation are good. Also I watch a lot of movies and imitate the way actors/actresses talk to each other. Am I right that the content of the speech and formal style did take some points away from mine?

Thank you very much, indeed.

[Christina]

Hi Tortoise,
Have you seen Simon's comment that he is not available to help everyone individually?!

To answer your question, maybe you need work on your fluency (8 only allows you to have rare self-correction and hesitation!). You pronunciation is only one criterion. If you need an 8 in speaking, you have to use some uncommon words or idioms. Well, but if you can talk fluently and smoothly (dont have to think for an answer especially in part 3), then you are well on your way to an 8 even if your vocabulary is lacking Maybe you need to refer to the speaking band descriptors for more details.

In my personal experience, I feel that fluency is a major factor determing whether I get 7 or 8 or 7.5

[Eve]

Thank you very much Simon. Your advice motivates me and keeps me going. I've got band 6.5 in writing and hopefully I can get band 7 for this time.

[Brian]

Hi Simon.Today I'd like to ask you for some synonymous expressions to the following:
"the UK's proportion of the European Council's population."
Though I've tried to reword this phrase several times,I still there is repitition.
Many thanks.

[monu]

please somebody help me, writing and reading both are my problem. i got 3 bands from reading and 4.5 from writing.....plz help me

[Valentas]

Hello.

I saw the instructions NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR NUMBER in the listening

I was expected to write a date February 27

Will I get penalised if I wrote "27th February"?

[Marc]

Hi Valentas. It says "one word AND/or a number" so the number 27 and the word February is ok. Don't worry about the "th".

[sabina]

hello simon,

I am preparing IELTS I need at least 6.5 but when i remember the exam day i become hopeless and can not do well. I can do well at home but don't do there.How can i develop strong confidence?

[Harsha]

Hi all,
I also had problem same as Sabina specially in reading test. But now it is almost vanished. We need lot of practice and study to developed confidence and stay out of panic.

[dennis]

hi simon..
i took an ielts exam on march 17, and this is my result

L = 7
R = 6.5
W = 6
S = 6.5
Overall 6.5

i do need band 7.

could you be more specific? what kind small improvement do we need?

[Maro]

Dear Simon

(31.03.2012) My results are as follows:

Listening: 6.5
Reading: 6.0
Writing: 6.0
Speaking: 6.5
Overall: 6.5

I took the IELTS exam as second time(6.5) , I must get 7 for my career. Before it was 6 ,It seems that I increased my IELTS result but it fails to satisfy..

What can do to get 7 ?

best regards..

MARO - REPUBLIC OF TURKEY (TR)

[m.rahman]

my IELTS score is 5.5

sk-6
lt-5.5
rd-5
wt-6
I need 6.5 no band less than 6

what can I do ?

[mitha]

i got 5 band overall
what can i do?
i want6.5 band next month i want to take exam
tell what should i do?

[Simon]

Hi guys,

You all seem to have the same problem - you just need to keep working hard to improve your English (keep reading, listening, writing vocabulary in a notebook, checking grammar etc. etc.)

It's difficult for me to help you all individually because I don't know what your particular problems are. If you are struggling, it would be a good idea to take a few lessons with a private teacher who can analyse what you are doing wrong.

[Michelle]

Hi simon,
I just want to ask if you need to pass all the ielts practice test like reading and writing for you to predict that you will get the band u needed? Because some of my reading test scores are low but some are high? Thanks

[Simon]

Hi Michelle,

Yes, doing more practice will give you a better idea of your level.

[Pearl]

Hi Simon,
I appeared IELTS twice and my problem is that my results aren't consistent. In my first attempt i got L-7.0, R-8.0,S-7.0,W-6.5. I realised after writing exam that I was unable to reach total word count of 250 words and accepted the score as it was. In my second attempt, I improved my writing skill and got L-6.0,R-7.0,S-7.0,W-7.5.I need overall 7.5 with at least 7.0 in each.I know I can score more than 7.0 in each component based on the above results but I am losing confidence now as I am unable to maintain the consistency. please help.

[Simon]

Hi Pearl,

This is quite normal. You're very close to the scores you need, so just keep trying. Don't give up!

[Amer]

hi simon

i really enjoy reading your comment and this website is very helplful for me
I want to get 6.5 in overall but I have got L6.5,R4.5,w5.S6
How I can improve my reading.Actually, I have all cambridge IELTS and I did the exam more than 5 times this year but the same score without improvemnt

[Simon]

Hi Amer,

All you can do is keep working on it. The lesson linked below gives you my advice about how to work on your reading:

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2012/07/ielts-reading-collecting-vocabulary.html

[Amer]

Hi simon

thank you for your help. I want to ask you about coheren and cohesion. What is the best way to make sure that your writing is clear and can be undersrandable.

[Simon]

Hi Amer,

Have a look at this advice:

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2012/07/ielts-writing-advice-cohesion.html

[ömürcan]

Hi Simon

My results are as follows:

Listening: 5.0
Reading: 5.5
Writing: 5.5
Speaking: 6.5
Overall: 5.5
ı want to get 6.0 in overall but listening is a really big problem for me how can i improve my listening

[orion]

Hi Simon

My results are as follows:

Listening: 5.0
Reading: 5.5
Writing: 5.5
Speaking: 6.5
Overall: 5.5
ı want to get 6.0 in overall but listening is a really big problem for me how can i improve my listening

[nirmal]

Today i got my results
Listening: 6.5
Reading: 6.5
Writing: 6.0
Speaking: 7.0
Overall: 6.5
What should i do to excel in IELTS?

[Juan Felipe]

Today i got my results.

Listening:6.5
Reading:6.5
Writing:7.0
Speaking:6.5
Overall:6.5

I needed 6.5 for an exchange program, and I'm glad i achieved this score. Anyway, I think I did better in my speaking test, but I'm not willing to pay for the re-assessment of my IELTS. I wish I got an overall score of 7.0, regarding the fact that some people got 1.5 points fewer throught any of the 4 skills, which I think is unfair.

[F. Khan]

should i follow any routine or schedule to get BAND 7?

[Bebi Mohammad]

Dear dr simon, I am now in Sheffield and looking for private teacher for writing and speaking, if you can help me, thanx

[ice peh]

Good day.
I'm planning take IELTS on 3 Nov 2012.
I have done 3 set IELTS Practise test.

Set 1,Reading:
Test1 20/40 Test2 18/40Test3 20/39 Test 4 27/41
Set 1, Listening :
Test1 24/41Test2 27/41Test3 23/42 Test 4 27/42

Set 2,Reading:
Test1 18/40 Test2 19/40 Test3 28/40 Test 4 26/40
Set 2, Listening :
Test1 29/40 Test2 27/41 Test3 23/42 Test 4 28/40

Set 3,Reading:
Test1 23/40 Test2 24/40 Test3 28/40 Test 4 27/40
Set 2, Listening :
Test1 25/40 Test2 27/40 Test3 27/42 Test 4 28/40

I found that scope of Reading passage too wide.Haha,I can did good when it need me to do the Yes,No and Not given statement?
Have any idea can share with me on this Reading part?

I need yours recomment.
From these result of practise tests,my score posibble to get band 6.5?
Because I need get band 6.5 to get a ticket entry Auckland University to further Master course.Open semester on March 2013.

Hope I can get useful infomation from you.Thanks you.

p/s: Very sorry,my poor English~

Best regards,Ice Peh

[pooja ojha]

hi,
i have exam on 24th of nov and i required 6 band in each module with 6.5 overall score and this going to be my second attempt i already made first attempt with in which i got
L-6.5
R-5.5
W-6
S-6

i am lacking in reading part. i want min 6 band in it and my listening is also good i want this time ill hit 7 in it but i am losing concentration because of anxiety.
kindly help me out. please.

[Peter]

I just took IELTS test for the second time two weeks ago and I got 6.5 for overall with
L: 7.5
R: 6.5
S: 6.5
W: 5.5

And I used to take it once when I was in high school (4 years ago) and got 6.0 for overall with
L: 6.0
R: 6.0
S: 6.5
W: 6.0

I really wonder how could after 4 years of study in college, my writing becomes worst and I was confident that I had done very good on writing on the test's day. I really think I've gained a lot of knowledge in academic writing from social science courses and report writing at my college. Also, how come my speaking skill remains the same? I'm certainly sure that my speaking skill has really improved a lot for all these years. Any tips and recommendations to improve it? I just want 7.0 for overall damn bad

Thanks,

[Simon]

FROM SIMON:

I'm afraid I no longer have time to answer everyone's questions individually. However, I do still read them all, and I try to answer some questions in a lesson once a week (usually Saturdays).

...

A lot of people have asked similar questions about how to improve their scores on this page. I'm afraid there is no easy answer, it's just a matter of hard work and practice.

Hopefully you'll find the advice you need in my lessons. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to take a few lessons with a private teacher who can analyse what you are doing wrong.

[vignesh]

hii Simon,
My ielts score is:

listening: 8.0
speaking: 7.0
reading: 6.0
writing: 5.5
my overall band score is 6.5,

Do I meet the required criteria for doing masters in finance from Canadian Universities?

[suliman]

hii Simon,
My ielts score was and Iplaned to enter Exam after one monthe, so could you advice me :

listening: 4.5
speaking: 5.0
reading: 3.5
writing: 4.5

[Siavash]

Hi Simon
As a user of your site I just want to report that I took 19 January 2013 exam and the result is this:
Listening: 8.0 , Reading: 6.5 , Writing: 6.0 and Speaking: 6.0 so the overall is 6.5 ... I cannot say that I am really happy with this result but I want to thank you for your good and useful site.
:)

[Jonas]

Hello Simon,

Could you please advice me whether I should try to review my results on the following results?

Listening 7.5
Reading 7
Writing 6.5
Speaking 7

Overall 7

When I was doing the exam, I feel like the writing part is quite properly structured n performed my skills there. But it gonna take months to get the result from the appeal. Does it worth it?

Thanks heaps in advance.

Jon

[Simon]

Hi Jon,

You could try if you want. However, there are no guarantees that anything will change, and it does take a long time.

[Jonas]

Thanks for your reply, Simon. It's much appreciated.

Jon

[Sid]

Dear Simon,

Let me introduce myself. Currently I am pursuing Master's of IT at Monash University and a tutor as "casual academic" at a reputed university at Melbourne. I graduated from Bachelor's of IT from Deakin(Burwood campus) in 2010, after which I worked in the field of IT for 2 years. I am from India, and I have studied English as a first language throughout my schooling and college, and I have to admit, English as a language is one of my strongest ability.
I decided to apply for residency in Australia and realised I need to achieve "8" in each of my IELTS bands.

So I took my first IELTS test and obtained the following results:-
L:9 R:8.5 W:7(was 6, changed to 7 after review within 2 weeks) S:8 Overall:8

So I went back to the drawing board and researched on how "writing" is evaluated. Sat IELTS again and my scores were:-
L:7.5 R:8 W:9 S:7.5 Overall:8

I have to admit, I lost my focus during listening and mucked up the test. But, got dinged in speaking. I re-did my IELTS yesterday, and though I feel quite positive about my efforts, I somehow feel I am gonna end up with 7.5 in either writing or speaking.

To be honest, I have the weird feeling down my spine that this testing format depends on a lot of factors other than my skills. Speaking and Writing are subjective, what I mean is, if three different examiners mark my IELTS speaking and writing, I am sure I would end up with three different scores, all varying by a degree of 0.5.

Also, I am not sure what exactly are they looking for the speaking section of IELTS. I am under the impression that the following aspects are considered for speaking:-
pronunciation, sentence construction, logical reasoning, vocabulary, clarity of speech....etc.

Do I need to have an australian accent for my speech, since I am doing IELTS in australia?

As mentioned earlier, my english is perfect, I have a neutral accent, my speech has clarity and I do not speak fast. If an australian accent is needed or preferred to achieve 8 - 9 in speaking, then I have to admit, I would never be able to achieve the score. I can fake accents, but only to a certain degree, the more I fake, the more I make a fool of myself. Wonder how a person from Texas or Alabama would fare during his IELTS speaking in Australia!

I hope my intent in this post is not mistaken to be as "venting my frustration".

But I really do need advice on what I must do to fix my speaking and writing sections.

Cheers,
Sid

[Simon]

Hi Sid,

Accent is not an issue at all; you just need good pronunciation and intonation. It sounds to me like you'll get the scores you need sooner than you think. Try not to worry about what the examiner might be thinking, and just do your best!

[Goutham Ch]

hey simon,

I'm very glad that i found your guidance on through one of my friends,I have got my result as below

Listening: 7.0
Reading: 7.0
Writing: 6.0
Speaking: 6.5
Overall: 6.5

do u suggest me to retake the test? is it enough for applying to an average good university for Canada,USA,Germany...hoping an early reply bro

[Ethan]

hay simon
i got 5.0 at listening
i wanna get more than 6 or above
what can i do
how should i do to make my listening skill improve...
Let me see your suggestion....